Far More than a Fairy Tale
by Aarana
Summary: After the untimely death of her father, Bella was destitute and at the mercy of her step-mother and siblings. What chance did a poor country girl have at this thing called life? Enter Edward Cullen.


My life was anything but a fairy tale. Sure, you hear of all these stories of dancing pumpkins and fairy godmothers coming to whisk away your sorrows and pain. Yeah, like that would ever happen. I used to believe in a happy ending once. That was way back when I didn't know any better.

My mother had passed away before I had the ability to store and recollect any memories of her. The ones I had were that of stories my father would tell me while I was bouncing on his knee. I loved my father very much. I was the apple of his eye and the cherry in his sundae. He told me that my mother was a beautiful princess that was brought down from heaven to give him a special gift, his beautiful Bella. When I asked him why she had to leave, he told me that the heavens had wanted the angel back once she had served her purpose. She was too good and pure to be among mortal humans any longer. In my minds eye, I would picture her with a long flowing dress and wings smiling down at me. I had never seen a real picture of her, so I would imagine her with long flowing brown hair like my own. However, she had blue eyes, unlike my own chocolate brown ones because angels always had blue eyes.

As I got older, my father realized that I was getting to the age where I needed a mother, even though I had never told him I wanted one. I think it was because of that time I had come home from playing with Jacob and was covered from head to toe in dirt. It seemed after that he was determined that I had a proper upbringing.

Charlie was the local chief of police, so had definitely had his pick of women. Just that status symbol alone attracted them, not to mention that he was the best guy in the world. You wouldn't find another guy as dedicated to his work or family as him, even if he was addicted to fishing. He explained to me that even though my Mom was incredibly special, that I needed another mother to take care of me. His enthusiasm was contagious, and soon I found myself excited to have a mother. Someone to read me stories, play with me, and to tell me they loved me while brushing my hair. I never told him that I needed a mother, but I guess deep down I really wanted one.

It was the summer of my tenth year that Charlie had singled out one of the women from the next town over. Her name was Maria, and she looked like a fairy princess. Her hair was a strong golden brown in light waves down her back. Her blue eyes sparkled and she was always smiling. I thought she was the best thing that happened to our family. She made my dad laugh, and she dotted on me. I also found out that she had twin daughters that were my age. Jessica and Lauren. I didn't get to spend much time with them, but I was excited with the concept of having girl-friends my own age. The only good friend I had was Jacob, but he was a guy and at that age guys were icky. No one likes to recollect those feelings, but come on, we all had them.

One night, he pulled me aside and let me know that he was going to propose and have Maria and her daughters become part of our family. She had naturally agreed to the proposal, and soon I was helping him clean out the spare room in anticipation of their arrival. The wedding was a small affair, as each of them had been married in the past and didn't want the hassle of a large wedding. Before I knew it, we were one big happy family.

Everything went smashingly well. Maria would sing me to sleep every night, and between the twins and I, we would take turns brushing each others hair. What I didn't realize at the time was Maria was madly in love with Charlie. Usually, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but some people are so incredibly spiteful it surprises me.

It happened one warm night in September. I had just turned 11years old. My sisters and I were playing in the backyard. They were princess and I was their servant. Trust me, the irony doesn't escape me. But I haven't gotten that far yet have I? In the middle of our play, I heard a car pull up into the driveway. Seeing the police car, I immediately ran out front to greet my father after his long day at work. What I saw was Harry Clearwater, Charlies deputy, standing there with his hat between his hands looking somber. Maria was next to him shaking her head furiously, tears running down her face. As I got closer, I saw that even Harry had tears in his eyes. I finally caught onto what he was saying. Charlie was attempting to stop a robbery at the local mini-mart when the gunman shot and killed him instantly.

And instantly my world shattered. I barely registered the chaos around me. Maria was in hysterics while Harry tried to calm her. Jessica and Lauren were crying too, just knowing that there was something happening to make their mother cry.

My name is Isabella Swan, and that was the day that I was made an orphan. At just 11yrs old, I had not only lost a Mother, but I lost the most precious person in my life.

At least I had my new Step-Mother.

* * *

**Twilight =/= Mine**

**So here you have it, the first chapter of "Far More than a Fairy Tale". This is actually a twist on Cinderella (if you haven't picked up on that). You see, tomorrow is my birthday, and since I demand a Cinderella cake every year, it just hit me that I should combine the two. I plan on this being a longer fic, I don't have an exact time frame at this time. This is also my first attempt at a Twilight Fan Fiction, so please let me know what you think! Also, I do not have a beta, if anyone is interested let me know. I tend to keep a close eye on my own fan fiction, but I know my grammar isn't stellar so any help is appreciated!**

**And, I was thinking of starting a Twilight fan fiction archive. One that has different features than other archives like fan fiction lists (which includes completed fictions, reading, dropped, plan to read, etc) as well as EPUB download capability (those Apple lovers will applaud...my iPhone is never far away) does that sound good to anyone...or are there too many communities as it is? And if anyone is interested in assisting on the website, or just want to know more about it , let me know through PM! **


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